The invention relates to methods and apparatus for sports training. In particular, a trajectory prediction, analysis and feedback system is provided for an object launched, impacted, or released by a human and provides feedback regarding the trajectory of the object.
Most standards of a player's success are determined upon their consistency of controlling the trajectory of the object used in the game. To truly become a better athlete, one must understand how each body part's motion is effecting the trajectory of the object, how each consistency of the body part's particular motion is affecting the trajectory of the object, and how physiological conditions are affecting the trajectory of the object.
Users use a variety of techniques to improve their performance. Practice, sport specific strength training, and sport specific diets are all very common. Throughout history, coaches have attempted to determine the best way to perform a specific athletic endeavor. Many coaches prefer a hands-on approach when analyzing a user's athletic performance. Many coaches use the so called “eye test”, meaning they watch the motion, and provide feedback to the user. Coaches based their feedback on prior history and knowledge of watching different approaches that worked for different users. This method turns into trial and error and a lot of frustrating moments throughout the process. One disadvantage to this method is the amount of time it takes a human being to blink and the amount of time it takes an experienced user to complete a motion like a swing. These two can overlap and cause problems in the coaching process. Another disadvantage is coaches are unable able to accurately decipher the current physiological scenario of the user, including the amount of muscle fiber activation rates, amount of lactic acid, amount of fatigue, the current heart rate, and other variables which significantly affect the particular motion, and in turn the trajectory of the object. The last disadvantage of the eye test is the instructions can be “lost in translation”. By attempting to show the user how to correctly preform the motion, the coaches motion will not be an exact replica of what the coach thinks the motion should be. There will be deviations in the process, which leads to confusion.
Other coaches use video cameras to record the user and show the user what they did wrong. The major disadvantage for this process is, even though we can repeatedly study the user's motion, the internal body features are unknown. We are still using the “eye test” based on other users' performances to better the user's motion.
Modern technology has vastly improved the ability to train a user to perfect the various aspects of his or her sport. It is common to video record users and allow them to see themselves in action. This allows the user and a coach to evaluate every aspect of the user's performance, from their fundamentals to their game related behavior. A basketball player can watch game tapes to see how they were shooting, and to evaluate, in slow motion, what they did wrong during a particular shot.
There are now numerous sensors that can be used to assist users. The most common and well known is the FitBit® which measures the number of steps a person takes, but can also measure heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. All of that data can help a user and coach evaluate the user's performance. Another common technique is to apply video sensitive tape (or tight-fitting clothing with video sensitive reflectors) and video the user during simulated aspects of their sport—a golf swing, a pitcher throwing—and develop a computer model of the specific user's body movement. This can be done for every aspect of the particular user's sport. This allows the coach to evaluate the specific body movements for efficiency and maximum performance. Runners, for example, can determine the most effective leg movement to increase speed or endurance.
The exponential growth in technology provides new ways to analyze athletic performance. There are a number of different sensors that can be attached directly to the user's body, or equipment, to provide data on the user's movement during a specific athletic event, such as swinging a golf club. These sensors can be attached directly to the skin by use of tape. These sensors can also be attached to the clothing that the user wears. The three most common types of sensors are the inertial monitoring unit, the IMU, and the surface electromyography, or SEMG, monitors, and electrocardiogram, or EKG, monitors. The SEMG monitors muscle fibers, through surface electromyography SEMG. The EKG's main function is to monitor the said user's heart rate. The IMU monitors the said user's motion.
These sensors can provide a good deal of information about an user's body motion while performing an athletic task, like swinging a golf club, throwing a pitch, shooting a basket, and the like. This information can be used to help the user improve performance. It would be valuable to further analyze this data to help the user improve performance by incorporating strength training and diet.